Legends born as Munster claim Holy Grail

IT wasn’t exactly a classic and sometimes it was far from pretty...but if you’re from Munster, who cares?

Ultimately, only the 23-19 scoreline mattered at the end of a nerve-wracking 80 minutes against Biarritz as Declan Kidney’s men finally reached the promised land of European Rugby Cup glory in Cardiff on Saturday.

The Heineken Cup is now destined for its new home down south as Munster provided the wider rugby world with official proof of what locals have known all along — that Munster have the best team in Europe and best supporters in the world.

The Red Army turned out in such numbers that rarely has the role of supporters as the 16th man been so crucial.

In the heat of the battle with the match poised delicately between the two sides with a few minutes remaining, the cacophony of noise reached an ear-shattering crescendo. Never before has the desire of fans to will their team to victory been so tangible.

After this weekend, the magnificent Millennium Stadium will forever be a part of Munster folklore as the province’s supporters accounted for the vast majority of the official 74,534 attendance.

In victory, the ghosts of losing finals in 2000 and 2002 were also finally laid to rest.

That great old Munster war horse, Mick Galwey who had experienced the heartbreak of seeing a title slip from his team’s grasp in Twickenham six years ago, was the first to acknowledge the historic nature of Saturday’s win.

“Thank God, that’s a monkey off all our backs,” he smiled in a remark that smacked as much of relief as joy.

As ever, Munster didn’t make it easy for fans of a nervous disposition as there was rarely more than a single score between the two teams. Memories of a soul-destroying defeat in Lille in 2001 when Munster were denied a perfectly valid try which cost them the game were evoked in the opening exchanges of Saturday’s game after Biarritz breached the Irish try line in the third minute.

However, a video replay showed that the Biarritz winger, Sereli Bobo had clearly put a foot into touch, although the score was allowed to stand.

But in typical fashion, Munster fought back from their nervous opening by doing what they do best — controlled forward play abetted by the pinpoint accuracy of Ronan O’Gara’s kicking and a rock-solid defence that would not be breached again for the remaining 77 minutes.

Just after half an hour, Man of the Match, Peter Stringer, caught the Biarritz wing-forward, Serge Betsen, snoozing in the scrum as he cheekily sneaked round the blind-side to touch down for a try that proved the crucial score.

The final whistle signalled the cue for a communal celebration of Munster people around the world on a scale unlikely to be repeated again. And the carnival mood was maintained into the early hours of Sunday morning in cities like Cardiff and Bristol and back to the heartlands of Limerick and Cork and towns and villages in between.

At last, the Red Army can breathe easily as rugby’s Holy Grail is finally coming to Munster.

The team, with captain, Anthony Foley proudly bearing the silver trophy, received a tumultuous welcome as the undisputed Champions of Europe when they arrived back in Shannon Airport late on Saturday night. Indeed, the story of the weekend could be summed up by one of the large, red banners displayed around Cardiff — “To the Brave and Faithful: Nothing is Impossible.”

Munster’s famous victory over the All Blacks in 1978 now also has a worthy rival to being the greatest moment in the province’s rich rugby folklore.

On May 20, 2006, another team of legends was born.